Not a Stormlight Archive fan? Here’s why you should be.
Wind and Truth, the fifth book in Brandon Sanderson’s epic fantasy series ‘The Stormlight Archive’ is hitting shelves this Friday (December 6th), and if the magnitude of this event doesn’t have you trembling with excitement, then you’re missing out. The novel is set to conclude the story that began in 2010 with The Way of Kings and, personally, I haven’t been this excited for the release of a book since 2007 (if you know, you know).
A lot of fantasy fans have been burned by the likes of George R.R. Martin and Patrick Rothfuss and the ten-plus year wait-time between their novels, but look! The Stormlight Archive is about to be finished. If you like epic fantasy, now you’ll have no reason not to pick up the series.
But, if you still need a little more convincing, please, read on. I will be discussing themes and narrative structure, but otherwise I will be keeping this spoiler-free (and trust me, this is a series with some fantastic spoilers).
The Most Important Words a Man Can Say
Please, bear with me as I attempt the herculean task of writing a hook for the series that somehow encompasses its massive scope.
Ahem.
I—okay, look. I’ve just spent twenty minutes trying to summarize the premise of The Stormlight Archive in one paragraph and it is impossible. A common bit of writing advice that gets thrown around is that if you can’t succinctly summarise the premise of your story in a handful of short sentences, you need to re-evaluate things.
The Stormlight Archive is the exception to that rule.
The story is, initially, split between the perspectives of three seemingly unrelated characters, so let me go through them one-by-one, elaborating on what makes them characters worth investing your time into. After all, good characters are what makes a story worth reading. The worldbuilding and plotting of the Stormlight Archive is top-tier, but none of that would matter without Dalinar, Shallan, and Kaladin.
"Life Before Death"
Dalinar Kholin is one of ten Highprinces of the nation of Alethkar. Six years ago, his brother—the King of Alethkar—was assassinated by the reclusive Parshendi people. Now, he and his nation are involved in a protracted war against the Parshendi on the Shattered Plains—a vast expanse of flat land divided by a network of chasms.
Dalinar seeks to understand his brother’s erratic behaviour prior to his death and the reason behind his assassination in the first place. Not to mention revenge. But the rulers of his nation are fractured and unwilling to launch a united force across the Shattered Plains, settling instead for unimportant skirmishes with the Parshendi.
What makes Dalinar such an intriguing character are the layers of conflict baked into him. Dalinar was once a warrior renowned for his brutality and hedonism. But his brother’s death has changed him—forcing him to examine the philosophies of war and leadership in a way he never had before. Circumstances push him to play games of politics he is ill-suited for, and watching him adapt to this world makes for compelling reading.
He’s a character with dimensions; a man who spent most of his life solving problems with a sword, but now faces a problem that can’t be solved with a blade: he must unite the Highprinces of his Alethkar. He’s compelled to do this by visions that are being sent to him by… God?
The Stormlight Archive is the pinnacle of modern-day fantasy worldbuilding. This isn’t a Tolkien clone filled with orcs and elves and dwarves. Roshar—the world this story takes place in—is nothing like any other fantasy story. It is a world ravaged by frequent ‘Highstorms’ that have forced flora, fauna, and even human architecture, to adapt and evolve to survive. It is a world powered by energy known as Stormlight that exists inside these Highstorms. It is a world of dozens of nations, each with their own rites, rituals, and, yes, religions.
Of course, many fantasy religions are just a front for magic systems. In a way, The Stormlight Archive is no different, but the religions of Roshar are also a means for exploring the incredible history of this world in a naturalistic way. This is important, because one of the best things about The Stormlight Archive is that, at its heart, it’s a mystery.
Like any good mystery, it begins with a crime: the assassination of the King of Alethkar, and although Dalinar and the other characters aren’t aware of this, they act as detectives, uncovering motivations, secrets, and hidden enemies that, across the books, slowly uncover the reason behind the assassination.
"Strength Before Weakness"
The history of Roshar is most overtly explored through the character of Shallan Davar; a scholar-in-training who early on in the first novel becomes the ward of Jasnah Kholin—the daughter of the dead King, and Dalinar’s niece. Together, they study the tomes in an enormous library in the city of Kharbranth, far from the Shattered Plains.
But Jasnah and Shallan both have secrets that they’re keeping from one another, and their work catches the attention of a mysterious group with tendrils all across Roshar with an interest in uncovering the hidden truths of their world.
In the distant past, frequent divine interventions have spared the world of Roshar from regularly occurring apocalyptic events known as Desolations. But the deities known as Heralds have abandoned humanity, and as Shallan and Jasnah uncover signs that there might be another Desolation on the horizon, the fate of the world could rest in the knowledge uncovered by these two young women.
What makes Shallan’s story so interesting though, isn’t the immaculate worldbuilding. It is that these exceptionally high stakes are developed and explored through a quite naïve character. Shallan doesn’t know much of the world when she begins her journey with Jasnah, and the enormity of what she—accidentally—uncovers and what she is later tasked with achieving is overwhelming.
Much like with Dalinar, it is a pleasure to read timid Shallan—a teenage girl with no wealth or political connections—struggle and adapt to the enormity of what circumstances demand of her. The pressures that mount on Shallan are numerous, and the perfect thing to push her to grow and change across the books as all the best characters do.
"Journey Before Destination"
But speaking of growth and change, I’ve saved the best for last. Kaladin starts the first book—The Way of Kings—at the lowest point a man could possibly get: a slave. Worse, a slave with suicidal ideations. Sold to the cruel Highprince Sadeas and forced to carry bridges for soldiers on the Shattered Plains, Kaladin plumbs the depths of his broken mind as he’s pushed mentally and physically to the brink of existence.
I’m not going to say any more about Kaladin’s development. It is a thing that deserves to be experienced first-hand by reading the story. All three of these main characters have suffered greatly in the past, but none are more broken than Kaladin. Watching this man attempt to survive and thrive after what the world has done to him is honestly inspiring.
He’s not alone, though. Apart from his fellow slaves, Kaladin has formed a strange bond with a windspren called Syl.
And it’s at this point I realise I haven’t even touched on the magic system of The Stormlight Archive. Much like the murder of the King, the magic system of this story is a mystery that is uncovered and developed as it progresses. It is deeply connected to spren; small, non-sentient (normally!) beings of light that are attracted to certain natural phenomenon and emotions.
Kaladin’s bond with Syl is unheard of in this era, but as he both accepts and questions her presence, he discovers that she might not be a simple windspren after all. Without saying any more, the best thing about Sanderson’s magic system in this story is how it is hardwired into character growth. It’s not waving a wand and saying a word. It’s not some nebulous, unexplained phenomenon that you just roll with. There are rules, and acquiring ‘magic’ is not easy.
Watching Kal choose life over death and be rewarded for it is just supremely satisfying and gives way to some of the most incredible scenes in fiction that I have ever read. Period. Again and again, Sanderson finds ways to externalise his characters’ internal struggles, which is the true genius of his writing. An epic battle is never just an epic battle—it is always a function of a character’s growth that gives them a reason to overcome a previous inhibition or showcase a change.
This is the secret sauce—the reason the climaxes of The Stormlight Archive are so well-regarded in the fantasy space. I will forever remember the time I had two-hundred or so pages left in The Way of Kings when I started reading before bed, with the intention of only reading a chapter before going to sleep.
Instead, I finished the book.
I had heard about books that people couldn’t put down. I mean, I’d seen quotes like that on book covers all the time. I always thought it was a figure of speech until it actually happened. People have lobbed criticism at Sandrson’s prose, calling it basic and functional. The truth is that it is basic and functional—on purpose. It’s written this way so that it’s easy to get into the flow of the story—to become so absorbed in this intricate and expansive world that you forget you’re reading a book at all.
The story of Dalinar, Shallan, and Kaladin (along with many others) is coming to an end this week. It's a bit of a sad thought, but isn't this so much better than a series with no ending at all? It's been an incredible journey, but I have a feeling that the destination we're heading towards won't be half bad, either.
If you've ever thought about reading The Stormlight Archive, this is your sign to do it. The Way of Kings was my first ever Brandon Sanderson novel. I can honestly say that it has changed my life. It is an inspiring story, both creatively and personally, and even though it's a long book (and thus, a long series), every page is worth it.
Now, go forth. The King of Alethkar is dead. Have fun finding out why.
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